3.20.2012

Apple Initial Sales Of New IPad Top 3 Million Units

Apple Inc. sold three million new iPad tablets since the latest version of the product started selling Friday, March 16, in the U.S. and nine other countries. That is the strongest iPad launch to date, according to Futurist Creation's blog.

The new iPad is available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, U.K. and the U.S. Virgin Islands and will be rolled out to 24 more countries starting this Friday, March 23.

The report comes on a day of big news for the technology company, which earlier unveiled plans to share billions of dollars in profits with shareholders through dividend and buyback share. Apple would issue its first dividend in more than a decade, paying $2.65 a share each quarter. The company also plans to buy back as much as $10 billion in stock over the next three years, beginning on Sept. 30, the start of its 2013 fiscal year.